Newly engaged and sorta done already :/

Same boat! And long post ahead! I am also in finance, every time I see average wedding numbers I cringe! That’s a down payment on a house! I’m just not willing to start my marriage in debt.

My FH and I are relatively young, we do have well paying jobs, but minimal financial support from our parents.

The first thing I would say, is that I had to keep looking and looking. But I just couldn’t accept crazy prices. I ended up doing the whole wedding on a Saturday in a peak season for approximately 5k, for 60 people. I’m pretty proud too, but there are a couple sacrifices I had to make. First, I had to have the ceremony and reception at two separate locations, they are less than 10 mins apart and from what I can tell no one thinks much of it! Second, was I managed to save $2800 off of my reception, but it had to be earlier in the day. Third, no real dance floor. But we are both quite introverted so that last one wasn’t a huge loss for us, there will still be some dancing! 😉

I found a ceremony location that charged $1,500 for a ceremony only package, it includes officiant, day of coordinator, photography, and the most amazing bridal suite! I could never have afforded my whole wedding there. For the reception, I searched and searched and found Maggianos Little Italy, not sure if you have it where you are but it’s a little more upscale Italian restaurant chain that rents out their ballrooms. They don’t charge any fees for room rental, but do have a spending minimum, no problem to hit that! But it’s all unlimited, 4 course, and absolutely delicious freshly prepared Italian food. Not to mention, it’s a restaurant! It’s already decorated beautifully and you don’t have to worry about renting chairs, plates, silverware, linens, etc. they also let you bring your decor, I’m just doing centerpieces and sticking with their white tablecloths, it’s beautiful! Plus no catered wedding food will ever compare to it, it’s fresh made when we arrive, hot out of the oven, and perfection 🤤 They have amazing bulk deals, I will be paying about $23 a person for four courses, 3 choices in each course, coffee, tea and soft drinks included! They also let you play your own music, microphone rental, etc. and have an optional dance floor. Those are all up charges though!

For flowers I am going with Bouqs, their packages are the best prices I have found, by like half off. It’s because they’re shipped directly from the farm, and come in a box, you have to snip the stems and put them in water when they’re delivered 2 days before the event. Little extra work, but I’m only using it for bouquets and boutonnières. Centerpieces are convincing fakes lol.

I hope any of that helps. I know it can be completely overwhelming, and you feel like you have to pay these prices to get the wedding of your dreams. But you don’t! It’s still going to be the priciest day of your life, but you can just prioritize on what you’re willing to accept to get the lowest possible price. On another note, I have spoken with a lot of older married couples, and so many of them say they wish that they had eloped... so if that’s what you like, I don’t think you’ll regret it! But if it’s just about money, I think you can do it! Research, research, research!


Sorry this is so long, but if you want anymore info or details, just message me I would be so happy to help!

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I honestly just want my dad to walk me down the aisle. I will definitely see if we are near that Venue I dont mind if its in GA or SC. I have even considered FL since my future in laws live there. so long as its rightly priced. I did find a museum i GA thats pretty nicely priced but i get a beautiful place NOTHING else. So i'd have to DIY a lot of things lol. But honestly eloping is an option maybe a ill just take my parents my FW sister and the grandparents. I feel like 3000 we could do that and have a much better time. But cake wise and dress wise have you had trouble finding things that dont take up all or most of your budget?

View Quoted Comment Yes that makes so much sense! Honestly, I think you’ll find the answers.

For my my dress I think I did a lot cheaper than most, but still pretty pricey for me, I stalked it online at David’s Bridal until it went on sale! It was about 500, maybe try looking at white dresses and I am sure they will be cheaper if not marketed as wedding dresses!

For cake, I shopped around a LOT! I ended up booking a three tier cake that feeds 60 for about 250, totally reasonable for me! I also saved by having it picked up by my mom and not delivered. There are much cheaper options like simple cupcakes, if you don’t tell them it’s for a wedding they’ll be much cheaper haha. Or even sheet cake will be much more affordable. But I went with those costs for those two, and the whole thing came out to 5k! Which is more reasonable to me!

Hi Nellie! If you're still on the hunt for a venue, I've started some searched for you in the WeddingWire vendor listings -

Here are venues in Augusta

And here are venues in Greenville

What style of venue do you think you'd like?